Turkiye quake: M'sian SAR team unable to enter ground zero due to logistics issues

Members of the second Malaysian rescue team (MAS-10) deployed to assist in the search and rescue (SAR) operation for Turkiye earthquake victims checking on their equipment on arrival in Gaziantep on Thursday night. - Photo: Bernama

GAZIANTEP (Turkiye): The second Malaysian rescue team (MAS-10) deployed to assist in the search and rescue (SAR) operation for Turkiye earthquake victims arrived in Gaziantep on Thursday (Feb 9) evening but is still unable to enter ground zero due to logistics problems.

The constraint is because the equipment for the SAR operation and personal needs of the team members, brought from Kuala Lumpur, had yet to fully arrive at Gazientep Airport, even though the mission team had arrived at 5.50pm (Gazientap local time) on Thursday.

MAS-10 team leader Abdul Manaf Che Isa said that the problem may have occurred following the arrival of many SAR agencies from foreign countries in Turkiye on the same day.

"But, Alhamdulillah, as of 9.40pm tonight (Gazientep local time) 70% of our equipment had arrived, including two tracker dogs, Denti and Frankie, who are in good condition,” he told Bernama and RTM.

Abdul Manaf said the team will move to Nurdag, about 45km west of Gaziantep, which is the location designated by the local disaster relief agency, once all the necessary items are obtained.

MAS-10, a team under the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), comprises 20 members of the Special Malaysia Search and Rescue Team (Smart), 30 members of the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department and 20 officers of the Civil Defence Force. The team departed from Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday (Feb 8) night and arrived in Istanbul at 6am Thursday.

Also joining the team were two media personnel from Bernama and one cameraman from RTM.

Several foreign SAR agencies, from China, Tajikistan and Russia, have also arrived at Gazientep Airport.

A strong earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, which hit southern Turkiye and northwestern Syria on Monday (Feb 6), has claimed thousands of lives.

The effects of the earthquake were also reported to be felt in Cyprus and Lebanon.

Turkiye, on Tuesday (Feb 7), declared a three-month state of emergency in 10 provinces - Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurf - to ensure the smooth running of search and rescue missions. - Bernama